The present invention relates generally to laser hardened structures, and more specifically to nonsacrificial laser hardened structures.
Protection of aircraft and spacecraft from high energy laser irradiation can be accomplished by laser hardening of the outer surface of the craft. Prior art laser hardening absorbs laser irradiation primarily by solid to gas transition of sacrificial materials. This requires using very conservative amounts of material and covering the energy absorbing material over the entire surface to be protected. Therefore, the weight of required material may be prohibitive.
Additionally, the use of sacrificial material limits the ability to protect against repeated or sustained laser irradiation.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a laser hardened structure that absorbs laser energy without sacrificing material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight laser hardened structure.
A feature of the present invention is that additional energy absorbing material can be stored in a central location and automatically supplied to the area encountering the laser attack.
An advantage of the present invention is that it is effective against sustained or repeated laser irradiation.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be made to serve as a load bearing member of the structure of the craft.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the detailed description of the certain representative embodiments proceeds.